Skin Detox: What I Learnt From A Week Without Makeup

I spent last week away in Cornwall. I stayed with my family in a cottage between Marizion and Penzance. It was such a lovely week, eating lots of good food and visiting favourite places, from St Ives to Land’s End…… and I didn’t wear a scrap of makeup for the whole week!

Why do I wear makeup?

Makeup is a funny thing really. I started wearing it when I was about 15, first just mascara and brow pencil (very badly filled in I’ll admit!) then later came foundation. I absolutely love makeup. Both collecting it and applying it. I don’t claim for a moment to be an expert or talented at applying it, but I simply find it so much fun. It is so satisfying to paint your face up however you like. Some days I wear very minimal, fresh makeup. Others I go for full coverage and more dramatic eye makeup. As a creative person, I get excited to do my makeup in the morning. Does that make me sad? Probably!

I wear it because it is fun, but I also like wearing foundation to cover up any redness on my cheeks. As a pretty pale-skinned gal, I don’t blush lightly – my face burns red! So I feel much more confident with some coverage to hide the dreaded redness!

Also on another note, I like makeup in the same way some people might love computer games or tennis. It is like a hobby really! That is how my blog came about really. I don’t think there is anything wrong with loving makeup, it doesn’t mean you are vain or fake. Makeup can just be fun – like any other hobby! I will happily sit for an hour, applying new makeup and practicing eye shadow, to then take it all off again once I’ve finished and continue the day bare-faced.

I don’t wear makeup every day. Last year I barely worse any! But now that I work full-time, I do enjoy getting ready and looking more presentable, so I currently wear makeup at least 5 days a week. My usual routine is foundation, concealer if needed, then ABH Dip Brow Pomade and mascara. I love skincare too, so everything is carefully removed at the end of the day.

To anyone who doesn’t wear makeup, a week without it must seem silly! But to consciously avoid packing any makeup seemed strange to me. What if I get sunburnt and won’t be able to cover it with makeup? The main thing I was aware of was not being able to hide redness. Still, I resisted packing any makeup to avoid temptation.

Wearing no makeup when you are on holiday is a lot easier than in your normal life! I knew I wouldn’t see anyone I know, which meant I didn’t ever really think about my appearance. Without makeup to mask my skin, I found I was taking even more time with my skincare to make it look as best it could. (I have a Holiday Skincare Routine post to follow so keep your eyes peeled for this!)

It makes getting ready a LOT quicker. I know this is an obvious one, but it literally cut half an hour from how long I take to get ready in the morning. If I carried on daily life without makeup, I could have half an hour more sleep in the morning! I think some days I would be glad of this, especially in the winter. But I actually find that the gentle routine of applying my makeup in the morning relaxes me. Can you tell I am a creature of habit?

So what happened to my skin?

I think you assume that without makeup, your skin would be beautiful, radiant and smooth as a detox away from all the makeup clogging your pores should leave you with baby-skin again. Well, my skin does look better for not wearing base products, but there isn’t a huge difference. I am very lucky to have relatively clear skin – I don’t suffer with breakouts really. So my skin looks very much the same. My boyfriend on the other hand, has never worn makeup yet suffers with breakouts. So I think this myth that makeup gives you bad skin is exactly that – a myth. A lot of it is down to your skin type and genetics.

I think the problem with makeup lies in not removing it properly, that’s what will make your skin suffer. As I am careful to do this every night, my skin is in pretty good condition. I can completely understand though – if you have troublesome skin, it would be a lot harder to go bare-faced and not feel self-conscious, meaning you are in the vicious circle of always putting on makeup which in turn, clogs your pores.

I caught myself in a mirror a few times whilst out and about and thought ‘wow, I need some mascara!’ If I could have picked one product to use, it would definitely have been mascara. Without it, my eyes just aren’t defined at all. I am a bit of a mascara addict, I love layering it on for dramatic, fluttery lashes that are really black. Naturally, I have brown lashes that are blonde at the ends – in other words, you can’t see them! I’d definitely consider getting my lashes tinted though, to add the colour. Then all you would need to do was curl your lashes if you wanted them to look defined!

I’d also like to try an LVL lash lift, just to see if I like it. I think some really subtle, natural lash extensions would be nice for a holiday, but I have a bad habit of picking my lashes and I can just imagine myself picking off the lash extensions! Not nice, but true.

So what did I learn from a week with absolutely no makeup? It reminded me why I wear makeup – because I love the process of applying it and the confidence boost it gives me! Similar to getting a good haircut and blow dry or a new pair of shoes, it just makes you feel a bit better about yourself. Who wouldn’t want that?

I leant that my skin isn’t actually that bad, so I should make more of an effort just enhance my natural skin with makeup, rather than covering it all up! The Deciem serum foundation is already helping me with that.

I also learnt that my mascara-coated lashes are the main thing I miss when I don’t wear it! So maybe a lash treatment would make the daily routine quicker and could be fun to try.

10 Comments

Frances Butcher

July 30, 2017 / 4:31 pm

I loved wearing no make-up for 3 months when I was travelling- it’s such a time saver! But I also love it as a hobby like you – I could never give it up for good! And I also saw 0 improvement in my skin whatsoever, it’s totally about taking it off properly at the end of the day xx

Amazing that you went travelling, was it recently? So much quicker to get ready in the morning! Agreed, I had to actually remind myself not to put any on as I love using it as part of my routine! That is really interesting that you found the same with your skin – I’ve definitely come to the conclusion that as long as you cleanse your skin properly at the end of the day, you should be fine! xx

I’ve been on holiday in India to visit my family and I didn’t bring any makeup with me. I notice a slight difference in my skin but nothing too noticeable. I’m very fortunate to have relatively clear skin as well. Makeup is what it means to each individual person. To me it’s something that I can relax and do in the morning xx Nikita

I find that it’s hard in the beginning of the day because you realize that you’re missing something in your routine, but then once night comes and you dont have to deal with any smudges then you’re happy about it!